I love the baked bbq black eyed peas and the citrus collards. The singer hibiscus drink is awesome as well. I made the fritters but haven't tried any of the hot sauces. I need to get on that. The bbq black eyed peas take a long time but they make enough to bring to a potluck or last for a week of work lunches so they're totally worth the time.

_________________Goddamn that Rick Santorum has a pretty mouth. -sameness

I just bought this tonight! I'm pretty excited, we don't really have this style of food here, so I haven't grown up with or even tried most of the things in this book. Some of the ingredients might be tricky to find (different kinds of greens, mainly), but I'll check out the farmers market on Sunday and see what I can get.

I'm not too sure where to start, though. The Jamaican veggie patties sound pretty good. But I'm open to your recommendations on what someone fairly unfamiliar with this style of food should try first!

I made the Cajun Tofu, steamed greens (used purple kale) with tahini dressing, and coconut rice last night. It was all really good, even if I missed the parts about using defrosted tofu and soaking the rice overnight - it was last minute decision making.

I'm going to make an easy guess that my rice would have been creamier had I soaked, and that maybe the coating would have stuck to the tofu better. Regardless, really good!

I wanted to resurrect this thread as I'm on a bender with this cookbook lately. I made the rosemary tofu cubes, the braised brussel sprouts in garlic broth and the cumin and carmelized onion mashed potatoes on the weekend. All DIVINE. And make a nice meal together.

This weekend, I'm gonna make the blackened tofu with succotash and coconut rice and probably one of the greens recipes. I want to try some other stuff too. There are lots of refresher, non-alcoholic drink recipes too, maybe I'll try one of those. I plan to dive into this cookbook over the next few weeks and summer seems like a good time for it.

I haven't yet tried a single recipe from it (though I'm making list), but I just have to say that I think every cookbook EVER should have a soundtrack for each recipe. This should be the new standard for cookbooks. Clever title, cute accompanying story, list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions, SOUNDTRACK.

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That shroom stock is worth making. It makes my kitchen smell so good and I freeze it so I have it available whenever I need it. I also think it is awesome how he suggests saving mushroom stalks and stems from greens, etc, for stock. I started doing that and it makes the stock process less painful because I don't feel like I'm buying a ton of stuff just to make stock.

The Cajun tofu and citrus collards are easy and I make them a lot. I also like the cashew grits and like others have mentioned, the hot sauce for the black eyed pea fritters is the best hot sauce ever. I hated the green tempeh packets. Blah! A lot of work and no flavor.

The smothered seitan medallions with the the gravy has become my Christmas day meal because it is too complicated for everyday, but unbelievable for a special day.

The garlic broth brussels are my favorite recipe, for my favorite veggie. Saying that 3-4 years ago wouldn't have meant much, but now it really means something. (I still have about 4 more sprout recipes I use regularly too. Love my brussels!)

I have this cookbook and have had it for well over a year. I have only made the citrus collards from it (which were indeed fabulous) and opened the thread to get re-inspired (you know, before I go buy yet another cookbook). I feel what everyone is saying about the labor intensity of the recipes. I really want to cook from this cookbook and I wish I knew where to start. I love the style of it and you all have some really good ideas so I will start with those.

I haven't yet tried a single recipe from it (though I'm making list), but I just have to say that I think every cookbook EVER should have a soundtrack for each recipe. This should be the new standard for cookbooks.

This weekend, I'm gonna make the blackened tofu with succotash and coconut rice and probably one of the greens recipes.

I wound up making this last summer and still remember it fondly. It was yum except I don't think I made the coconut rice part but I can't remember. Definitely the tofu and the succotash and whatever else I ate it with were really delish though.

I'm scared of this book. Everything looks so complicated or fried or both. Motivate me to cook something, PPK?

Turnip shallot soup!

Is this awesome enough to convert a lifelong turnip hater? I feel like it probably is (wasn't it on your blog?)

It's certainly worth a try. It is pretty awesome. You might try chopping your turnip smaller than the suggested size to make it easier to get used to - I find sometimes when I'm adjusting to a new thing, it's easier for me if it's in smaller pieces.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

Still sceptical. My family used to put a ton of turnips in stews when I was little and it was awful. Making the rosemary tofu cubes tonight, though!

I will make it too! We can compare notes.

Well, that was my first disappointment from this book. I got the perfect texture for the tofu by roasting it an extra 15 minutes, but it was pretty apparent once I started eating it that it should have been marinated for a while before roasting, and that the paprika probably should have been cayenne. Next time I try this, I would probably add a tablespoon or two of white wine vinegar and a clove or two of minced garlic, and marinate it in the fridge overnight before roasting.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

Still sceptical. My family used to put a ton of turnips in stews when I was little and it was awful. Making the rosemary tofu cubes tonight, though!

I will make it too! We can compare notes.

Well, that was my first disappointment from this book. I got the perfect texture for the tofu by roasting it an extra 15 minutes, but it was pretty apparent once I started eating it that it should have been marinated for a while before roasting, and that the paprika probably should have been cayenne. Next time I try this, I would probably add a tablespoon or two of white wine vinegar and a clove or two of minced garlic, and marinate it in the fridge overnight before roasting.

Aw, I liked it. But I also doubled the rosemary and used hot paprika because that's what I had on hand. And let it sit in the mix while waiting for the toaster oven to warm up. It probably also helped that it being a toaster oven it was really close to the heat. The garlic idea sounds good, though. I would press the tofu properly next time too.

What in the hell is coconut butter and is there anything that I can substitute? I've looked for that stuff everywhere and I'm starting to think it's made up.

I've had this cookbook for a couple of years and never made a single recipe out of it, which is unheard of for me. I'm determined to make some stuff, but not being able to locate the mythical coconut butter is putting a wrench in my plans.